Scooters by phone? USC alum hatches plan for rental business

A former University of South Carolina student turned New York businessman plans to launch an on-demand scooter rental business in Columbia driven by smartphone technology.

Scootaway follows a business model inspired by Uber, the upstart citizens-driver car service put in place to rival traditional taxi service, according to president, owner and CEO Frank Scozzafava.

Starting with a trial period next month using 40 scooters, he hopes to expand the $2.99 per half-hour rental business to 500 scooters around the Capital City and then reach to other college towns and tourist resorts.

By working out deals with USC, City Hall and other agencies, Scootaway’s goal is to put scooters within easy distance of anybody 18 or older who needs a lift – college students being his first target market.

Customers would be able to register for a scooter through their Android or iPhone device to be picked up at an agreed location, drive off and then turn it back in at a convenient scooter parking site.

Technology looms large in the business.

The smartphone app registers and qualifies the renter, the company said. The technology – for which Scozzafava says he has patents pending – allows customers to find one of the $2,500 scooters on the map and be allowed to drive it away.

The scooters are tracked by GPS at all times, he said. The company can disable a scooter remotely if needed.

The vehicles are unlocked through the app, allowing access to on-board helmets, depending on the agreement. The app also allows the scooters, which are supposed to travel 30 miles per hour at a maximum, to be started keylessly.

Investors have joined Scozzafava in putting up $500,000 to launch the business and secured $20 million of credit to make a go of it, he said.

Pursuit of students, success

“We chose Columbia, South Carolina, as our first city for many reasons, but mainly because it’s a college town with a university that has at least 20,000 students” in an urban setting, said Scozzafava, who studied journalism at USC some two decades ago.

“We’re working with the city of Columbia to have spots on city streets and in their parking facilities in the Vista, the Main Street downtown area and Five Points,” he said. Scootaway also is working with companies in Columbia that provide off-campus student housing, such as The Hub, Olympia-Granby Mills and others, Scozzafava said, to secure parking agreements there.

After a summer test period from May 7 to Aug. 1, Scootaway plans to put 500 scooters in 100 locations around Columbia, then expand to Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and even South Beach in Miami, Scozzafava said.

The company may also look at putting outlets in Clemson, Greenville and Hilton Head Island, he said.

Scozzafava said he has formed a board made up of experienced businesspeople, including Mike Campbell, son of the late Gov. Carroll Campbell and a former candidate for lieutenant governor.

Campbell, currently a state workers’ compensation commissioner, said he knew Scozzafava from their days as USC students in the early 1990s. Campbell said he kept up with Scozzafava’s business career, which included a past appearance on the ABC television show “Shark Tank,” where Scozzafava got a successful bid from the sharks while launching a bikini line.

Campbell said the scooter company could have a broader effect on the state’s economy because they are currently made in China and shipped into the Port of Charleston. Campbell and Scozzafava said they hold out hope the scooters might one day be manufactured in South Carolina.

Within 12 months, the ambitious business plan is to have 10,000 scooters in 20 cities across the country, concentrating on the 150 or so U.S. cities that have major college campuses, and in beach and resort areas, Scozzafava said.

He plans to test his business plan with 40 scooters and 30 parking locations around downtown Columbia, mostly at designated spots in USC parking lots. During the test phase, the company will check out how the technology performs, how the scooters function and customer reaction.

Unanswered questions

Columbia is discussing making off-street parking in city lots available to the company, according to assistant city manager Missy Gentry. But right-of-way parking would require changes to city ordinances, she said. In addition, the company must get a business license.

Also, the business climate for scooters and mopeds is in flux in South Carolina.

A bill filed in December would ban all mopeds and scooters from public highways and streets. Another bill would require mopeds to be registered and insured while still another would require drivers to wear reflective vests.

No legislation regulating scooters and mopeds is expected to pass the General Assembly this year. But the Upstate House member who filed the legislation to ban them, Rep. David Hiott, R-Pickens, has classified the vehicles in media reports as dangerous.

Some people have complained that scooters can be operated in South Carolina without a driver’s license, even by those who lost their licenses because of driving under the influence.

Scozzafava said many of those concerns already have been addressed by his company, including requiring riders to be 18, have a valid driver’s license to operate a car and wear a helmet with a built-in eye shield. The company also offers weekly training courses.

Noting a changing USC student culture that might reduce the need for cars as student housing comes into the city center, scooters might become more practical and affordable.

“We are currently working with Scootaway to identify 38 scooter parking locations for a pilot project,” said Jeff Stensland, a USC spokesman. “The university is testing whether scooter rentals can reduce automobile traffic congestion on campus and decrease the need for students to purchase their own scooters.

“Additional designated scooter parking also will help reduce instances of students parking scooters illegally near building entrances and at bicycle racks.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2015 at 6:16 PM with the headline "Scooters by phone? USC alum hatches plan for rental business."